Fifty
million aging
Baby Boomers
are sparking
demand for products
and environments
that accommodate
their changing
physical
and sensory
capabilities.

Characteristics
of Our Aging Population

Human
Aging—
A Recent Phenomenon

NEVER
BEFORE IN HUMAN
HISTORY has
our planet
contained so
many older
people— or
such a large
percentage
of them. This
has not always
been the case.
As late as
1930, America's
older population
numbered less
than 7 million—only
5.4% of the
population.

Today,
one out of
every 9 Americans
is "old"—another
former youth
turns 50 every
8 seconds.
Those age 65
and older now
exceed 35 million,
a number poised
to explode.
January 2011
ushered in
the first of
approximately
77 million
Baby Boomers,
born from 1946
through 1964
and surging
toward the
gates of retirement.

Between
2000 and 2010,
the 45 to 64
population
grew 31.5 percent
to 81.5 million,
and now makes
up 26. 4 percent
of the total
U.S. population.
This rapid
growth is due
to aging of
the Baby Boom
generation.

Each
year more than
3.5 million
Boomers turn
55.Their swelling
numbers predict
that, by 2012,
America's 50
and older population
will reach
100 million.
And according
to the UN Population
Division, 1
in 5 people
are expected
to be 65 or
older by 2035.

This
dramatic
growth in
numbers and
proportions,
increased
life expectancies,
and energetic
life styles,
now enables
us to live
20 to 25%
of our lives
in active
retirement.
Moreover,
today's physically
and intellectually
active younger
generations
predict that
tomorrow's
elderly population
will be better
educated,
healthier,
culturally
literate
and, as individuals,
more discerning
consumers.

As
they begin
to experience
declines
in their
physical
and sensory
capabilities,
they will
demand—and
respond to—products
and services
that help
them maintain
their active
lifestyles
and activities: flexible
scheduling,
continuing
education,
travel,
intellectual
and stimulating
experiences,
and opportunities
for companionship.

Transgenerational
design provides
a
harmonious bond
between products
and services
and the people
that use them.
Additional information—
including a description
of "Transgenerational
Design",
its origins,
benefits, and
history—can
be found on Wikipedia.

The
Elderly Sub-populations

THE
DRAMATIC
INCREASE
in the
number
of people
reaching
age 65 — coupled
with
their
increased
life
expectancy — have
expanded
the classification
of those
age 65
and older
to include
three
sub-populations
commonly
referred
to as
the "young
old," the "old," and
the "old-old" groups.

The "Young
Old" 65-74The
first
wave
of
aging
Baby
Boomers
reached
full
retirement
age
in
2011.
For
the
next
20
years,
74
million
Boomers
will
retire.
This
means
that
10,000
new
retirees
will
be
added
to
the
Social
Secrity
and
Medicare
rolls each
day.

The "Old"74-84During
the next decade,
increased life
expectancy
will strengthen
the wave of
aging Boomers
and steadily
increase their
total number
contained within
the elderly
sub-population.

The "Oldest-Old" 85+The
fastest-growing
segment of
the total population
is the oldest old—those
80 and over.
Their growth
rate is twice
that of those
65 and over
and almost
4-times that
for the total
population.
In the United
States, this
group now represents
10% of the
older population
and will more
than triple from
5.7 million
in 2010 to
over 19 million
by 2050.

Elderly
Boomers Will
be Different

UNLIKE
THEIR
PARENTS
GENERATION
, Boomers
will
be
a market
with
very
different
characteristics.
They
exercise
twice
as
much
as
previous
generations.
No
bocci
ball
or
badminton—no
rocking
chairs
or
vegitating
in
the
desert
sun.

They'll
continue to
bike, hike,
swim, sail,
and ski—play
softball and
basketball.
They'll move
to the mountains,
beaches, islands,
college towns— where
the physical
and intellectual
action is.

A
survey by Del
Web showed
that half of
them expect
to work
at least part-time
once they retire.
And they'll
want offices
in their homes—with
highspeed internet
connections
for those two
or more computers,
which 40 percent
of them already
own. As LeRoy
Hanneman, president
and CEO of
Del Web says...

"Boomers
should be
called "Zoomers."

The
Swelling
Aging
Population

A
Recent Global
Phenomenon

AS
WE
ENTER
THE
TWENTY
FIRST
CENTURY,
population
aging
has
emerged
as
a major
demographic
trend
worldwide.
Declining
fertility,
and
improved
health
and
longevity,
have
swelled
the
older
populations
dramatically—and
at
an
unprecedented
rate.

For
the first
time in history,
people aged
65 and over
will soon
outnumber
children
under the
age of 5.

Throughout
the world
today, there
are more
people aged
65 and older
than the
entire populations
of Russia,
Japan, France,
Germany and
Australia—combined.

By
2030, 55
countries
are expected
to see
their 65
and older
populations
at least
20 percent
of their
total.

By 2040,
the global
population
is projected
to number
1.3 billion
older
people—accounting
for 14
percent
of the
total.

By
2050,
the U.N.
estimates
that
the proportion
of the
world's
population
age 65
and over
will
more
than
double,
from
7.6%
today
to 16.2%.

Projected
Acceleration
of Population
Aging

Source:
United Nations,
2009

.

Future
Projections

IN
2009, THE
GLOBAL
POPULATION
OF PEOPLE
AGED 60
AND OVER
was 680
million
people,
representing
11 percent
of the
world's
population.
They have
increased
by 10.4
million
just since
2007—an
average
increase
of 30,000 each
day.

HERE
ARE THE PREDICTIONS:

By
2050, the
60 and older
population
will increase
from 680
million to
2 billion—increasing
from 11 to
22 percent
of the world's
population.

From
1950 to 2050,
the world
population
will have
increased
by a factor
of 3.6; those
60 and over
will have
increased
by a factor
of 10; and
those 80
and over
by a factor
of 27.

By
2050, Europe
will continue
to be the
world's oldest
region with
its elder
population
increasing
more than
five fold—from
40 million
to 219 million.

Only
5 percent
of Africa's
population
is projected
to be 65
and older
by 2050,
with sub-Sararan
Africa remaining
the world's
youngest
region.

China
and India
have the
largest
older populations.
By 2050,
China will
see its
number
of elders
grow 30%
from 109
million
to 350
million—India,
from 62
million
to 240
milion.

Japan,
with today's
largest
share of
the world's
old-age
population,
will see
its percentage
of those
60 and
over rise
from 27
percent
to 44 percent
in 2050.

By
2050, more
than 70
countries,
representing
about one
third of
the world's
population,
will surpass
Japan's
present
old-age
share of
27 percent.

In
the coming
decades,
all regions
of the
globe will
experience
population
aging.
Today's
5-22 percent
range will
become
an 11-34
percent
range in
2050 (UN,
2009)

One
of Nine Americans
is Old

TODAY
IN THE
UNITED
STATES,
40.3 million
Americans
are age
65 and
older,
an estimated
13% of
the population,
according
to the U.S.
Census
Bureau.

And
their
number
is
expected
to
more
than
double
to
89
million
by 2050.

SOME
SURPRISING
FACTS:

The
United
States
contains
more people
age 65
and older
than the total population
of Canada.

Americans
aged 65 and
older outnumber
the combined
populations
of New York,
London, and
Moscow.

In
2010, Baby
Boomers will
begin reaching
age 65, swelling
the 65 and
over population
in the United
States from
13.0 to 20.0
percent by
the year
2050.

America's
elderly
population
is expected
to reach
72 million
by 2030,
more than
double
the number
in 2000.

THE
U.S. ADMINISTRATION
ON AGING reports
that in 2009
the older population
of those 65
and older was
39.6 million,
representing
12.9 percent
of the U.S.
population,
or about one
in every eight
Americans.

Back
in 2000,
people aged
65 and older
represented
12.4 percent
of the population.
By 2030,
there will
be about
72.1 million
older persons,
more than
twice their
2000 number.

Growing
Old, At Home

TOMORROW'S
ELDER POPULATION
will differ
from those
of past decades.
They will enjoy
longer lives,
better health
and more active
life styles
than previous
generations.
Still, the
overwhelming
majority will
also face a
growing and
continuous
challenge—maintaining
their precious
independence.

Today,
according to
the AARP, upon
retirement,
9 out of 10
seniors already
stay where
they are, prefering
to grow old
in their own
homes. But
successful "aging
in place" demands
that one's
home and household
products not
only provide
continuedenjoyment
and stimulation,
it must also
support one's
declining functional
limitations
and enhance
one's quality
of life.

Refusing
to be stigmatized
by living in
a "home
for the Aged" or
using "elderly
products," aging
Baby Boomers
will seek out
designs that
accommodate
rather than
discriminate,
symmpathize
rather than
stigmatize,
and appeal
to users of
all ages and
abilities.

Transgenerational
design provides
the accommodation
everyone seeks!

Why
the Population is Aging

Three
factors drive
the Increase
in life expectancy:

AGE
DYNAMICS -
Past variations
in birth
and death
rates affect
the evolution
of a country's
age structure
(i.e.,
the 1946-1964
baby boom
in the
United
States).

DECLINING
FERTILITY
RATES -
A declining
share of
young people
within
the general
population
causes
the population's
share of
older people
to rise
automatically.

LONGEVITY
INCREASE -
As the
population
ages,
there
is general
agreement
that
an increse
in life
expectancy
will
continue.

Life
Expectancy
at an All
Time High

According
to
the
Centers
of
Disease
Control
and
Prevention,
life
expectancy
at
birth
has
risen
to
a new
high
of
nearly
78
years. Today,
a newborn
infant
can
expect
to
live
for
78.3
years.

Two
thousand
years
ago
the
average
Roman
could
expect
to
live
22
years.
Those
born
in
1900
could
only
expect
to
live
47.3
years.

By
1930, life
expectancy
had risen
to 59.7 years,
rising again
in 1960 to
69.7 years.
Continuing
its dramatic
rise, life
expectancy
increased
1.4 years
from 76.5
in 1997 to
77.9 in 2007.

This
dramatic
increase
in life expectancy
is not accidental.
Its substantial
and pleasing
rise results
from infectious
disease control,
public health
initiatives,
and new surgical
and rabilitation
techniques.

Declining
Mortality Rates

While
heart disease
and cancer,
the two leading
causes of death,
accounted for
nearly half
(48.5 percent)
of all deaths
in 2007, mortality
rates declined significantly
for eight of
the 15 leading
causes of death:

influenza and pneumonia (down
8.4 percent)

homicide (down
6.5 percent)

accidents (down
5 percent)

heart
disease (down
4.7 percent)

stroke (down
4.6 percent)

diabetes (down
3.9 percent)

hypertension (down
2 .7 percent)

cancer (down
1.8 percent)

Put
in perspective,
life expectancy
at age 65
has increased
more in the
last 30 years
than the
entire 200-year
period from
1750 to 1950.
Today, a
person age
65 can expect
to live another
15 years.
A man of
75 has a
50-50 chance
of reaching
84; a woman,
86.

Increased
Longevity for
All

ALSO
IMPORTANT TO
REMEMBER—older
people are
not the only
beneficiaries
of increased
longevity.
Life expectancy
has increased
dramatically
for those in
infancy, childhood,
and even early
adulthood due
to improved
medical breakthroughs
in solving
problems with
birth, early
infancy disorders,
and contagious
diseases.

Add
improvements
in nutrition
and sanitation,
and we can
see the reasons
why most
children
today reach
adulthood
and why most
adults reach
old age.
The bottom
line:

The
longer
you
live,
the
longer
you're
likely
to
live!

A
Skewed
Sex
Ratio

It's
a woman's world.

WE
TEND TO
IGNORE
THIS FACT:
Women live
longer
than men — and
this has consequences!

As the
world's
population
grows
steadily
older,
it also
becomes predominantly
more
female.
In 2008
alone,
an estimated
62 million
more
women
than
men lived
to age
65 and
over.

Today,
the 2010
U.S. Census bureau
splits the American
population 49.2%
male and 50.8%
female. As their
share of the
population increases
with age, women
characteristically
comprise the
majority of the
older population
in the majority
of countries
throughout the
world.

The
ratio changes.

The
sex ratio (the
number of men
per 100 women)
also changes
over the human
life span. Surprisingly,
105 male births
occur for every
100 female births.
As time passes,
the number of
males continues
to exceed females
until the third
decade (20-29).
From that age
on, women increasingly
outnumber men.

For
every 100 females
In the 65-74
age group, we
find only 86
males. Their
number continues
to drops to 72
in the 75-84
age group. For
the old-old groups
(85 and older)
the sex ratio
becomes even
more pronounced
expanding to
an astounding
49 men for every
100 women.

But
the gap in mortality
between men and
women that occurs
in the older
ages continues
to narrow. The 2010
Census reports
there were approximately
twice as many
women as men
at age 89. This
point occurs
about 4 years
older than it
did in 2000,
and six years
older than it
did in 1990,
evidence of the
narrowing gap
.

Still,
the higher mortality
rates for men,
beginning at
birth and continuing
throughout the
life course,
result in increasingly
fewer men than
women tallied
within each of
the elderly sub-populations.

The
implications
are self evident...

Desiging
for an aging
population
means designing
for a gender
imbalance of
older females.

Race
and Ethnicity

One
would
expect
to find
older
people
to be
similarly
distributed
among
racial/ethnic
sub-populations.
But this
is not
the case.

The
older
population
is
becoming
increasingly
more
racially
and
ethnically
diverse
as
the
overall
minority
population
grows
and
experiences
increased
longevity.

The
population
of older
Hispanics
was 2.7 million
in 2008—or
6.8 percent
of the populaton.
Their number
is projected
to swell
to over 17
million by
2050 and
account for
19.8 percent
of America's
older population.

Black
or African
American
In 2008, 3.2
million Blacks
or African
Americans accounted
for 8.3 percent
of the older
population.
Their number
is projected
to grow to
over 9.9 million
and reach 11
percent by
2050.

Asian,
Hawaiian & Pacific
Islanders
In 2008, this
segment contained
over 1.3 million
people, accounting
for 3.4 percent
of Americns
aged 65 and
older. By 2050,
their number
is projected
to reach over
7.6 million,
accounting
for 8.6 percent
of the older
population.

American
Indian
and Native
Alaskan
The American
Indian and
Native Alaskin
older population
was 212,605
in 2007 and
accounted for
0.6 percent
of the older
population.Their
number is projected
to grow to
almost 918,000
by 2050.

OUR
MIXED HERITAGE

An
additional
156,794
persons
65 and
older
consider
themselves
to be
American
Indians
or Alaska
Natives
along
with
another
race
category.
Thus,
a total
of 369,399
persons
65 and
older
report
having
Amerian
Indian
or Alaska
Native
heritage.
By 2050
they
will
account
for 1.0
percent
of the
U.S.
population.

The
country's population
distribution
by sub-group
shows a disparity
in life expectancy
caused by:

varying
birth rates

socio-economic
factors

immigration
rates

inaccuracies
due to enumeration
problems
of the census
itself

In
the next
several decades,
the percentages
should change,
resulting
in a decrease
in the white
majority
and proportionate
increases
in the percentages
of minority
elderly.

Transgenerational
homes and products
can help maintain
those active
lifestyles,
activities
and independence.
They help you
accommodate—and
attract—their
swelling purchasing
power.